Vito: Brown not running away from questions about Sixers' future

From left, the Sixers’ Nerlens Noel, Arnett Moultrie, Thaddeus Young, Spencer Hawes and James Anderson sit on the bench during the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game against the Detroit Pistons, in Auburn Hills, Mich. The Sixers’ 113-96 loss was the most recent in a 15-33 season. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

PHILADELPHIA — Like coaches will do, they scheme and they plot — about moments that just occurred, and about moments that have yet to take place. They play back moments from their mental reserve as though they’re peeling back video highlights on a laptop.

Coaches talk.

76ers coach Brett Brown shares phone conversations regularly with his father. And Bob Brown, a New England Basketball Hall of Famer and a coach of more than a half-century, has a usual refrain when the two get to talking.

“I ask him, ‘How can you wake up every morning and know you’re going to lose more than you’re going to win?’” the elder Brown said.

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It’s not easy, the son will tell his father. It requires a short-term memory. It requires patience. It even requires the appropriate running shoes.

Brett Brown, from time to time, will take pregame jogs through South Philly’s FDR Park, which neighbors Wells Fargo Center. Going incognito is impossible, particularly when he’s wearing his Sixers warmup garb. Brown said he recently encountered a fan who had a question that sounded an awful lot like his father’s.

“I had somebody talk about, ‘We need a win. When are we going to get a win?’ It was all about winning,” Brown said. “I was, ‘Yes, I understand,’ and I ran a little faster.”

He may be swift, but Brown can’t outrun every question regarding wins. Even the casual fans are curious about the Sixers’ rebuild effort. They want to know when they can expect victories, playoff appearances and possibly much more from Brown, the coach who got a four-year deal upon his hire back in August.

Brown has a thick skin — and that’s a necessary job requirement when it comes to coaching these Sixers — but even he is susceptible to disappointment.

After last Monday’s loss to Phoenix, he did not rush to the defense of his defense. After Friday’s loss to Atlanta, he did the same. Both games had something in common: Even in defeat, Brown said, the Sixers did not show an emphasis on playing hard at both ends of the floor.

That’s the foundation of a top-tier team. That’s the style of play in the postseason, too, Brown said.

“I think we’ve been pretty clear — I know we’ve been clear — that, listen, this is going to be a painful year. I said from Day 1 when I got the job that the rebuild, the pain of losing is real,” Brown said. “It doesn’t just sound good in August. Now I’m living it. When you’re down 20 and you’re on the sidelines … at times, this is hard.

“The city of Philadelphia,” he continued, “has been great in realizing that this is going to take two years. It’s not just one year. This is going to take a few years to really get going again. The realities of that have been understood by a city that’s extremely competitive. We want what they want, and so do I. I love the city. It’s a real city, a tough city, and I hope I can do my job well enough to bring something to the court that everybody wants.”

The Sixers won’t always be mired in the Eastern Conference’s cellar. They won’t always be asked about tanking seasons, or ping-pong balls, or all things NBA Draft lottery. And Brown won’t always be stopped mid-workout at FDR Park.

For the time being, however, outsider questions outnumber the Sixers’ wins, and that’s something Brown is learning to cope with.

* * *

The banners with green piping are there. So are the fans, who faithfully turn out in droves. The stage was set this week for a meeting in Boston of traditional division rivals with rich histories.

Same as it ever was? Not exactly.

This rivalry doesn’t have the luster of Wilt vs. Russell, or Dr. J vs. Larry.

“I’d like to see it get to that level, as I remember it,” said Brown, a New Englander who witnessed the glory days of Sixers-Celtics. “The Philly-Boston battles were always special, and I look forward to trying to help rekindle those types of memories.”

It almost feels like that seven-game Eastern Conference semifinal series back in 2012 was a century ago.

“It feels,” Thaddeus Young said, “like it was just yesterday.”

* * *

Everyone shouting from the cheap seats that the Sixers should prescribe to the tanking movement need to look a few hundred miles to the west.

Out in Cleveland, the Cavaliers brass earlier this month were determining whether a D-League stint was in the immediate future of forward Anthony Bennett, on whom the Cavs spent the No. 1 draft pick last June. That’s the same Bennett who had played only 56 minutes over Cleveland’s last nine games — including six absences by way of DNP-Coach’s Decision.

The draft is loaded with uncertainty. It’s far more complicated than some make it seem.

* * *

As for the weekly awards around the league…

Thumbs up: Andrew Bynum. Give the big man credit for his play off the court. He’s made close to $23 million for playing 24 games the last two seasons. And signing with Indiana over the weekend ensures he’ll be adding to that financial stockpile.

Thumbs down: Lorenzo Brown. The guard, who splits time between the Sixers and the D-League’s 87ers, made no attempt to mask which game he was watching Wednesday. Sixers-Celtics? Nope. His eyes were on Heat-Thunder, sending out a Tweet or two about the high-caliber showdown. (Good rule of thumb: Watch the team that signs your checks.)

Thumbs up: David Stern. The commissioner — who stepped down this week — did plenty for the game. Take, for example, its visibility oveseas. Two nations aired NBA games when he took the post 30 years ago. He leaves with more than 215 countries televising the league.